Scents-making: A Climate Fragrance Lab
For Climate Week NYC, Bios Apothecary and climate scientist/creative Hailey Basiouny (and team!) come together for a sensory exploration of ecology, memory, place, and the natural world.
***Please note that this event will cost $100 per person to cover materials, labor, and time. We are currently exploring philanthropic sponsorship and/or sliding scale to make this event more accessible - reach out if you/an org you work with wants to support. You will leave this experience with a custom 15ml fragrance, community, and new tools to reflect on and engage with your environment and climate action!***
The experience begins with a guided introduction to the science of fragrance — how factors like terroir, botanical variation, growing conditions, and extraction method shape what we ultimately smell, led by Bios Apothecary and drawing on their library of plant-derived aromatic materials. From there, the conversation opens into the climate implications of that science: what it means to lose access to a scent as landscapes shift, and how our relationship to the places we love is carried, in part, through smell — including the emotional and memory-based dimensions of environmental change.
Guided by prompts designed to help participants locate a specific landscape, ecosystem, or natural environment that holds meaning for them, guests will create a personal fragrance that translates that memory and connection into something tangible. Each participant will leave with their custom fragrance.
The experience closes by turning reflection into action — grounding the emotional and sensory work of the hour in concrete ways to protect the places we love.
No previous fragrance experience is required.
Bios Apothecary is a natural fragrance house and botanical design laboratory exploring new ways of engaging with the natural world through scent. Through its public herbariums, custom fragrance experiences, and extensive library of plant-derived aromatic materials, Bios creates opportunities for people to engage directly with botanical materials through composition, sensory exploration, and bespoke fragrance creation.
Hailey Basiouny is a creative producer who weaves her background in curriculum development, project management, climate science and creative communications to create compelling narratives for change in service of the earth and all its inhabitants.
Into the Treehouse uses play as a framework for building capacity and generating creativity and connection between one another and our natural environment. The founders, Nicole Nimri and Paloma Rae, bring years of experience in the social and cultural space.
Julie Souza is a climate emotions researcher who centers community members in her understanding of climate mental health. Currently serves as the Development and Fundraising Manager at Good Grief Network and Climate Mental Health Advisor at ecomind Australia.
Steph Lavallato is a sustainable finance expert who spends her days translating complex topics and connecting stakeholders to advance corporate accountability on climate. She is motivated by bringing people together around a shared purpose.
Michelle O’Carroll is the founder of Bios. An architect, urbanist, and herbalist, her background in sustainable design, permaculture, and botanical systems informs her work exploring new paradigms for human–nature connectivity. Through Bios, she develops participatory sensory experiences that use scent and plant materials to deepen our relationship with place, ecology, and the natural world.
Khloe Kamerzell is a sensory scientist and lead instructor at Bios Apothecary, bringing a background in sensory analysis to the study of olfaction, botanical materials, and fragrance composition. At Bios, she leads fragrance education and guides guests through the sensory and technical process of working with natural aromatic materials.